How to Find a Job in Music
There are many different jobs in the music industry, ranging from production assistant in a studio to executive at a record company. But due to the sheer amount of people who want to make a living in music, it is a very competitive industry, especially for people looking for their first job. Contacts, experience and initiative are very important if you want to find that music job.
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Instructions
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Instructions
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Get the right experience; most jobs don’t come with training. If you want an executive position at a record label, you’ll need to demonstrate your ability to identity talent. Due to the Internet, you can build up relevant experience quite easily. Consider setting up a blog where you review new acts and artists. Offer to help local bands with their promotion and marketing. Volunteer at local radio stations and recording studios, even if these aren’t your chosen areas of music. Simply being around places like radio stations and recording studios will put you in contact with music industry professionals.
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Brush up your resume. Tailor your resume so it reflects your passion for music. If you wrote a column about rock music for the school paper, put this at the top. Anything you’ve done that shows you love music should be highlighted. Include any bands you’ve played with, and demonstrate a knowledge of the music industry. If you booked your own gigs, let any potential employers know you’ve got experience in the area of live music management.
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Make contacts. Contacts are everything in the music industry. Due to the desirability of music jobs, you're competing with so many more people. Give yourself as many advantages as possible by getting out there and meeting people. Find out who the up and coming bands are, and get to their shows early.
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Stay up to date. Subscribe to as many relevant email services and newsletters as possible. Industry message boards are a great way of finding out the latest news. Ensure that you know about the latest bands, the latest technology and the latest business models.
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Find out about vacancies. It’s very rare that music industry jobs will be advertised in the mainstream press. Check message boards and forums for rumors of vacancies and be proactive. Use your contacts to find out who is hiring. If you have a contact who is considering a new job offer, ask their employer to consider you to be their replacement. You can’t be too forward in the music industry.
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Ask for jobs. Keep in regular contact with potential employers and ask what they are working on. If there’s a new release coming up, offer to help get it stocked in your local area. Use your blog to help with promotion.
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Tips & Warnings
Even if you don't have a full-time role, get some business cards with the name of your blog or site. Concerts are noisy places, so you need a reliable way to make people remember your name.
Most mainstream music jobs are situated in New York City or Los Angeles, and for country and western music, in Nashville.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Live concert Gig image by Frenk_Danielle Kaufmann from Fotolia.com
